Veggie Solution

[Mom2Two]

I'm trying something new with vegies, and it worked well today.

I'm not wild about family style--everything seems to get coughed on and left overs aren't always reusable. But I'm not completely wild on eat-what-you-get either.

A while back I read that another provider always offered two vegies (was it BC?) and I thought that sounded like a good idea.

So today, I had four vegie options available and I asked each child which one they wanted, and I served it to them. The result was that they each (except one child) ended up with a full vegie serving that they chose themselves. I had sweet peppers, fresh tomatoes, pinto beans, and all but one child chose a serving of at least one vegie. I could have also gone on to the cucumber and bag of washed spinach.

I'm pleased about it, because I can have the vegies washed and chopped and it's not hard to give each child what they want. I only have 5-7 to serve lunch to, so the numbers don't make it too hard for me.

[Blackcat31]

I'm trying something new with vegies, and it worked well today.

I'm not wild about family style--everything seems to get coughed on and left overs aren't always reusable. But I'm not completely wild on eat-what-you-get either.

A while back I read that another provider always offered two vegies (was it BC?) and I thought that sounded like a good idea.

So today, I had four vegie options available and I asked each child which one they wanted, and I served it to them. The result was that they each (except one child) ended up with a full vegie serving that they chose themselves. I had sweet peppers, fresh tomatoes, pinto beans, and all but one child chose a serving of at least one vegie. I could have also gone on to the cucumber and bag of washed spinach.

I'm pleased about it, because I can have the vegies washed and chopped and it's not hard to give each child what they want. I only have 5-7 to serve lunch to, so the numbers don't make it too hard for me.

Yes, it was me..... I don't normally serve fruit.
I do, just not often and never for lunch.

As for family style and coughing etc... I cover each serving bowl as it's being passed. I also only put a small portion into each bowl/container (sometimes only enough for that one child) and then refill as needed.

We have fresh carrots, pepper strips (red/yellow/orange), cucumbers and celery available daily. With ranch or honey mustard dipping sauces.

That is in addition to the daily "hot" veggies

[storybookending]

Yes, it was me..... I don't normally serve fruit.
I do, just not often and never for lunch.

As for family style and coughing etc... I cover each serving bowl as it's being passed. I also only put a small portion into each bowl/container (sometimes only enough for that one child) and then refill as needed.

We have fresh carrots, pepper strips (red/yellow/orange), cucumbers and celery available daily. With ranch or honey mustard dipping sauces.

That is in addition to the daily "hot" veggies

BC do your kids eat a lot of celery? I have great eaters, they eat almost all I put in front of them. My newest 2 year old isn’t too keen on the veggies but everyone else eats like a champ! Celery is the one thing NO ONE will touch. Not even if I serve with peanut butter and raisins.

[flossie]

What about a ranch dip for the celery? The preschool kids, as well as the toddlers, will eat ANYTHING dipped in ranch.

[ellen211]

This is a good idea. Thanks for posting this. I will also give it a try soon!

[LK5kids]

I've seen kids go crazy over celery when it's cut Into very thin strips and served with ranch.

[storybookending]

tried the thin strips and ranch and it’s still a no go with this current group. they eat just about everything else so I shouldn’t complain!

[Josiegirl]

tried the thin strips and ranch and it’s still a no go with this current group. they eat just about everything else so I shouldn’t complain!

It's those darn stringy things, no matter how hard I try to rip them off, there still are some left. I don't like plain celery except packed with cream cheese or peanut butter.
I figure with all the other veggies out there, they can live without celery.

Most of my dcks love baby carrots, fresh green beans, peas, cucumbers, any colored peppers. They're iffy on broccoli, cauliflower, and cherry tomatoes. None of them seem to like any kind of squash. I just found out my 2 littlest dcks like spinach with shredded cheese; however it grosses out my older kids.